Tri-sector partnerships in social entrepreneurship: discourse and practice of the actors from the circles of action and reflection

• Published in: Revista de administração (São Paulo) Vol. 47; no. 3; pp. 446 - 460
• Main Authors: Bronzo, Carla, Teodósio, Armindo dos Santos de Sousa, Rocha, Márcia Cristina Gomes da
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Portuguese; English
• Published: Departamento de Administração da Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade da Universidade de São Paulo 01.09.2012; Universidade de São Paulo
• Subjects: alianzas trisectoriales; círculos de acción y reflexión; MANAGEMENT; organizaciones no gubernamentales; políticas públicas; cross sector partnerships; políticas públicas; circles of action and reflection; círculos de ação e reflexão; Non-Governmental Organizations; Organizações Não Governamentais; círculos de acción y reflexión; parcerias tri-setoriais; organizaciones no gubernamentales; alianzas trisectoriales; public policy
• ISSN: 1984-6142; 1984-6142
• DOI: 10.1590/S0080-21072012000300009

This article discusses the construction of tri-sector partnerships in three projects conducted in Brazil in different fields of intervention of public policy (access to water, basic education and performance of boards of rights of children and adolescents). Collaborative articulations involving the players from three sectors (the State, civil society and the market) are practices that are little studied in the Brazilian and even in the international context, as tri-sector partnerships are rare, despite the proliferation of lines of discourse in support of alliances between governments and civil society or between companies and NGOs in the management of public policy. As a research strategy, this study resorted to cooperative inquiry, a method that involves breaking down the boundaries between the subjects and the objects of the analysis. Besides working toward a better understanding of the challenges of building tri-sector partnerships in the Brazilian context, the article also tries to show the relevance to public policy studies of investigative methods based on the subjects studied, as a means of developing an understanding of the practices, lines of discourse and dilemmas linked to social action in social programs.